In the Midst of Clouds An Alternate RK Romance
by nekonomiko
Summary: Fate dictates the star-crossed couple to meet in the realm of dreams. A fantasy romance that goes beyond reality. chapter 4 Teaser updated... I have decided to include other characters in the story. Please RR...
1. In the Midst of Clouds Prologue

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In the Midst of Clouds ~ An Alternate Rurouni Kenshin Romance  
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Prologue: Introduction  
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Twilight, a period of dead silence and time for most to enter a realm of   
dreams that may be of fear or blissful fantasy. Playful streaks of moonlight   
quietly paint a mysterious glow of silvery colour on certain parts of modern   
Tokyo.   
  
A few particular beams escaped through an partially drawn curtain to fall on   
a young girl of sixteen. She is our heroine, Misao. Her body was entwined   
with crinkled blanket and a couple of pillows. The mischievous grin on the   
usually carefree face was greatly disturbed, slender arms flaring wildly in   
the air as if attempting to ward off a unwanted occurrence in her personal   
dreamland.  
  
To be exact, the actual dream was not really the reason of such restlessness.  
In fact, the sheer number of times that it happened even before the child   
developed any signs of adulthood, should have at least been accustomed to.  
Strangely, the frequent reoccurrence of that weird creation by the figment   
of her imagination was somewhat unable to come to terms with.  
  
Her family knew nothing of this matter. Only her older sister Kaoru, had any   
idea of her ritual battle with the disturbance. Kaoru had tried to suggest   
seeing a specialist in this field, but she was silenced when Misao slyly   
blackmailed Kaoru with spilling information about the older sibling's steady   
relationship with her boyfriend, Himura Kenshin to their parents.   
  
Thus, the unresolved matter continued on without any help to intervene for   
almost every night.  
  
And the story will begin from here...  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++End Of Prologue+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 


	2. In the Midst of Clouds Chapter 1

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In the Midst of Clouds ~ An Alternate Rurouni Kenshin Romance  
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Chapter One: The Disturbance  
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Start of dream sequence:  
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A little stream of crystal clear water flowed into a lake that formed in the   
valley of between the scenic mountain range. A slice of silver moon can be   
seen from the clear blue sky filled with countless stars as well as the   
smooth mirror like surface of the lake itself.  
  
Speckles of yellow and green light from the fireflies decorated the   
breathtaking view as she pranced through the field of wild flowers bathed   
in the liquid moonlight. Laughter of delight floated up and was carried off   
to a distance by peals of gentle breeze.  
  
He was late.  
  
The time was getting harder to pass as the person she had waited for did   
not turned up for at least an hour. She collapsed onto the soft mattress of   
wild grass and cradled her knees. An occasional chirp of a cricket relieved   
nagging doubts of his appearance, be it intentional or not.  
  
Impossible.   
  
He would never break his promise. The promise of meeting her here every   
night without fail. Of course she knew that it was absurd to keep a promise   
to a man whom did not exist outside the realm of dreamland. Her heart   
obviously decided to ignore the former when it took command of her legs   
without fail for so many years. The reasons had not yet come to her.  
  
She was still in the middle of debating whether to leave when the rustling of  
bushes startled her. Pale blue grey eyes met hers as her heart skipped a   
beat. Dark shadows as always, covered most of his face from view.  
  
"Konbanwa," the girl stammered.   
  
"Konbanwa."  
  
She clasped her hands together as she timidly asked, "Ano, if you don't mind,  
can I know the reason for the delay?"  
  
"Nothing that important."  
  
She wanted to ask further but the slate blue eyes seemed to implore her to   
stop questioning. An understanding smile touched her lips as she changed the   
topic.  
  
As usual, the conversation that ensured was rather one sided but the relaxed   
contentment that lurked beneath the surface of his cold facade was enough to   
reassure her that he did not mind her babbling.   
  
After all, hadn't he came back almost every night? Those nights when he had   
actually skipped the meetings had managed to worry her. However, despite   
such strange behaviour, he visited her night after night while she had never   
probed any further into the reasons for his disappearance.  
  
"How I wish this will never end," she sighed after a reflective silence.  
  
He was surprised at the wistful quality in her voice.  
  
"Why?"  
  
She blinked at the sudden question. "I mean, you're only a figment of my   
imagination, right? So you couldn't possibly appear in real life and talk to   
me or," she drifted off.  
  
'Figment of imagination? I thought she was just part of my dream?' he frowned  
in great puzzlement and came out of his trance when his female companion   
peered at him in concern.   
  
"Or what?" he prompted.  
  
"Nothing!" A rosy red blush crawled upon her cheeks and she hurriedly turned   
her head to one side.  
  
A strange light at the peak of the mountain range informed them that dawn is   
just breaking. This is a signal whereby their nightly encounter will end.  
  
"See you next time." she beamed at him as she faced the dawning light.  
  
He was gone by the time words were uttered and she closed her eyes once again  
to welcome the beginnings of a brand new morning.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end of dream~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Ohaiyo," an utterly exhausted Misao called out to no one in particular as   
she stumbled her way out from her bedroom after visiting the bathroom.   
Trying to blink away the sleep from her blue green eyes, she stumbled into a   
cranky old chair propped up at the kitchen counter. A slight whiff of   
something burning however, quickly sent a series of alarm signals in her   
brain. "Shimatta! Kaoru-neesan is cooking breakfast today?"  
  
A muffled shriek confirmed her dreaded suspicion as black smoke drifted   
throughout the apartment as the youngest member of the family, Yahiko stormed  
into the kitchen while muttering a tirade of long and fluent curses.  
  
"Oi, kono busu! Have you been attempting to kill us all this morning?"   
Yahiko's eyebrow twitched as he berated his oldest sister for dragging him   
out of dreamland. He grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and put the tiny   
disaster out.   
  
"Nani? Yahiko! I'm trying to do you all a favour here by preparing for your   
daily nourishment and that's you can say about my efforts?"  
  
"More like our daily torment is what I would call it."  
  
The already irritated girl was beyond caring about not starting a fight as   
she retorted, "Shut your gap up, Yahiko-chan!"  
  
This verbal exchange soon escalated into an all out head knocking and   
strangling morning ritual as Misao sighed and stared at the mess created. She  
cleared up in no time and was able to whip up a simple meal of pancakes and   
soft boiled eggs. "Breakfast is ready!" Misao announced as she carried the   
food to the dining room with ease.  
  
Yahiko stopped in the middle of ducking a thrown shinai as he glanced at the   
array of dishes arranged on the table. "Yatta!" Unfortunately, this also   
caused him unable to avoid the oncoming smack of the weapon on his nose.  
  
Satisfied that the idiotic brother of hers duly punished, Kaoru made herself   
comfortable at the dining table as she cheerfully called out, "Itadakimasu!"  
  
The flavour of the pancakes that Kaoru had taken a bite of made her gave a   
contented sigh. "If only I can cook as well as Misao-chan."  
  
"Daijoubu, Himura can cook well for both of you," Misao took a tiny sip of   
green tea as she hid her grin behind the cup.  
  
"Misao-chan," a warning growl from Kaoru was enough to shut Misao up as she   
apologized for the small dig at her sister's talent or the lack thereof.  
  
"Gomen! Gomen!" Misao was quick to apologized.   
  
Kaoru glanced at the small antique clock and exclaimed, "Mou! Look at the   
time. We'll be late for school."  
  
The meal was finished in top speed as Misao gulped down the last few bites   
and grabbed her school bag to sprint off in the direction of her school,   
while Kaoru left for her own school in the opposite direction.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++End Of Chapter One++++++++++++++++++++  
  
A.N: No prizes for guessing who the mysterious guy in the dream was. ^-^  
Love it or hate it? Please give your opinions. I'm pretty new to the   
fanfiction writing. Comments are welcomed... :)  
  
neko_no_miko  



	3. In the Midst of Clouds Chapter 2

  
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In the Midst of Clouds ~ An Alternate Rurouni Kenshin Romance  
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Chapter Two: Valentine's Blues  
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Swinging her bag in a carefree manner, Misao caught sight of Sagara   
Sanosuke's infamous gravity defying hair sticking up among the small crowd   
of people. A cunning grin crossed her elf like face, as she sneaked up to   
the seemingly unaware tall guy as quietly as she could.  
  
Sanosuke felt a familiar ki coming his way as he moved his head sideways to   
evade the fast uppercut aimed at the back of his head.  
  
"Damn!" Misao cursed as she had missed yet another chance to land a blow on   
the school's handsome gangster.  
  
"Yo, itachi-musume!" The smirk on the arrogant male did not even fall for a   
moment as he ducked several kunai thrown by the irritated girl.  
  
"Don't call me weasel," Misao snared as she tried to hit him. "I'll get you   
one day!"  
  
"You wouldn't be able to hurt a single strand of my hair even in your next   
life," He taunted the girl as he avoided yet another sweep by her left leg.  
  
"I doubt the baka could even be hurt by a truck driven over him. With his   
thick skull, I would probably be worried about the truck instead. After all,   
didn't the saying goes 'All idiots have the dumbest luck'?" a beautiful   
woman in her early twenties tossed her long glossy hair over her shoulder as   
she remarked.  
  
Sanosuke rolled his eyes and bowed in mock politeness, "Fox Lady."  
  
The fore mentioned Fox Lady was non other than the top female scholar,   
Takani Megumi from the medical faculty in their school's university campus.   
She was once a love rival with Kaoru for Kenshin's affections but she had   
given up after Kaoru and Kenshin became an official item. Instead she   
settled being friends with both parties and since then, she often came over   
to their places for dinner.  
  
"Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Megumi-san!" Misao was glad to see her. 'She will shut   
the rooster up.' Misao began counting down the time for Sanosuke and Megumi   
to start their verbal sparring.  
  
Misao stopped in the middle of the concrete pavement as she recalled a   
certain matter with dread. The curious event of colour draining from the   
expressive face was unnerving as Megumi and Sanosuke noticed the sudden   
change in her facial expression unlike her normally bubbly self. Both of   
them paused in mid step as well as they studied the girl with great concern.  
  
Misao realized that the pair of rivals had stop squabbling and hurriedly   
tried to cover up her uneasiness with a tight-lipped smile.  
  
"What is it?" she asked with a mock cheerfulness. Megumi was not deceived by  
the strange behaviour anyway and decided to dismissed Sanosuke so that they   
could freely in private.  
  
"Rooster Head, stop bothering us today and get moving. We ladies are going a   
girl to girl talk."  
  
Sanosuke snorted rudely and waved his hands, "Yeah, I get the hint. Ja!"  
  
He stuck his hands into the uniform pockets and set off ahead.  
  
Once the presence of the gangster was gone, Megumi dragged the protesting   
girl towards an empty corner seat in a nearby cafe. After placing their   
order, Megumi made herself comfortable and waited for Misao to begin   
confiding in her. Misao made no efforts, so Megumi started off with idle   
conversation first of all.   
  
"Valentines Day is coming soon. Any unfortunate targets for our ninja girl   
to make chocolates for?" Megumi remarked casually and was not fooled by a   
tiny shrug from the sulky girl, after she stiffened when Valentine's Day was   
mentioned. (A.N: In Japan, people gave chocolates on Valentines day to   
the ones they like.)  
  
'Bull's eye.' Megumi was proud to find out the cause of Misao's depression   
at once and continued to press on.  
  
"Boy problem? Any one dared to reject princess Misao?" Megumi prompted.  
  
With a resigned sigh, Misao finally gave in. "Iie. The problem is not about   
unrequited love. Megumi-san, can I ask you one question?"  
  
Megumi was getting more puzzled. She lifted one shapely eyebrow and tapped   
her manicured nails on the table. "Sure, fire away."  
  
Misao took a long sip of fruit juice before gathering up all the courage.  
  
"Ano, could one have fallen for an imaginary person for real?"  
  
"Huh?" Megumi was instantly floored by this rather odd question. "Imaginary   
person as in a character from dreams?" she tried to jest.  
  
Megumi knew at once that the enquiry was no joke and tried to pull the red-   
faced girl back to her seat. "Wait, Misao-chan. I'm sorry if you're   
offended. Please sit down and I'll try to answer to that."  
  
Misao sunk back to the chair, her face still showing great wariness.  
  
Megumi breathed a sigh of relief as she began to consider the question.   
  
"There has been cases put up in research for being in love with a person   
from one's mind and dreams. No logical scientific proof had yet been given   
to convince the medical field that the patients were really in love with   
figments of imagination. So most of the psychologists assumed that such   
people are merely in love with the notion of love."  
  
Misao clutched her fists tightly and whispered, "What about Megumi-san?"  
  
A shadowed emotion briefly showed but it was no longer there when Misao   
tried to see it more clearly. The young doctor smiled reassuringly as she   
patted the tensed girl on the shoulder. "I'm keeping an open mind regarding   
this matter."  
  
Misao sensed Megumi's reluctance to talk in regard to this matter, so she   
distracted the troubled intern by changing the topic immediately.  
  
The two continued to chat casually until the time to make a move ended the   
conversation.  
  
.............................................................................  
  
Misao stood before the shoe rack, hesitant to look inside her shoe   
compartment. The school bell rang loudly, urging students that are not in   
class to hurry up. A light tap on Misao's shoulder startled her and she   
quickly spun around and rest her gaze upon a smiling girl a few years younger  
than herself.  
  
A temporarily mind blackout caused Misao to be unable to recall the girl's   
name. The tug on her school uniform sleeve however, rebooted her memory   
system to greet a worried face peering up into hers. Her little brother   
Yahiko's big time crush, Tsubame.  
  
"Oh. Ohaiyou to you too, Tsubame-chan!"  
  
"Misao-san, are you all right? You have been standing in front of the shoe   
rack for a rather long time. What's wrong?" Tsubame squeezed Misao's hand.  
  
Misao forced a smile for Tsubame's benefit and shook her head. She turned   
back to confront what was laying ahead and without fail, a small collection   
of love letters tumbled out of the compressed space. A slight wrinkle of   
Misao's nose indicating dread and disdain was followed by a tired sigh.  
  
"Wow, Misao-san. You're pretty popular among the school aren't you? Are you   
going to reply to these actions?" Tsubame was excited at how well-liked her   
sempai was among fellow students.  
  
"Nope." Misao shrugged and gave all the chocolates to Tsubame. "You can have   
these instead. Throw them away if you don't plan to eat. I don't want them."  
  
"Eh?" Tsubame was puzzled at this strange characteristic of Misao. Most girls  
would have been delighted at the display of attention and show of popularity   
from the male population. Tsubame tilted her head sideways to mentally list   
down the reasons for such woshipping among most students in their high   
school.  
  
Misao was the top athelete and student leader in their year. The blue   
highlighted hair tumbling down to her mid thigh and the sparkling ocean blue   
eyes were enough to charm anyone. These outstanding features does not include  
the fine and delicate features of her face that reminds Tsubame of a   
porcelain doll that any woman or girl would hope to have. The baby fat on her  
cheeks gave a touch of sweetness and child-like countenance.  
  
Tsubame wanted to probe further but the subject dismissed off any more   
discussion with a pleading look.  
  
"So, Tsubame-chan. Any plans this evening with my brother?"  
  
A dark flush on Tsubame's cheeks emerged and she nodded shyly.  
  
"Hah, I never knew the brat could summon the courage," Misao exclaimed.  
  
Tsubame was embarrassed and lowered her head even more.   
  
They chatted about the new semestral time-table. Misao was in the middle of   
waving her hands animatedly and discussing about the new teacher coming that   
day to replace a resigned language and literature teacher when she walked   
into a hard but yielding wall of warmth.  
  
Misao briefly heard Tsubame gasped when the collision happened and she tensed  
to apologized for the accident. An expensive pair of leather shoes entered   
her frame of vision first and she slowly moved her gaze up to a pair of long   
legs, slender body, wide chest and shoulder before resting upon the person's   
face.  
  
Deep aquamarine orbs met icy blue ones set in sculptured planes of facial   
contours and masculine jaws. Misao sucked in a sharp breath as she realized   
the victim of the unfortunate incident was the most good-looking face she had  
ever met. Handsome couldn't even describe him, so she settled for the   
adjective, beautiful.  
  
Misao was snapped out of the daze when the man monotoned, "Are you going to   
sit here all day long? Apologized quickly so that I can continue my way."  
  
The impression of this bishounen was shattered as soon as he demanded an   
apology.   
  
'Why the nerve of this guy! I was about to do that but now I wouldn't. So   
what if he is the most good looking guy I've ever met? He deserved to be   
knocked to come to his senses.' Once decided, Misao tried a graceful leg  
sweep to knock him to the floor.  
  
The mysterious stranger jumped away and intercepted an uppercut that was   
originally aimed at his left eye. He disappeared in front of Misao and she   
glanced around warily. Tsubame hid behind on of the shoe racks and observed   
the fight. Although Misao was lightning fast compared to most martial arts   
practitioners, the challenger had seriously outclassed Misao in his speed.  
  
The stranger appeared in a flash behind a battle-ready Misao and he gripped   
her arm and twisted it behind her back. Misao struggled valiantly for a while  
but an increase in pressure on her arm made her yelped in pain. She ceased   
any other futile to escape and finally slackened her movements.  
  
"Not bad. You need to improve on your speed and stance though," the man   
released her and she rubbed her sore arm as she stared at the insolent man   
grading her fighting style.  
  
She gritted her teeth and imagined all sorts of punishments she could not   
dished out in reality to this creep.   
  
He took a quick glance at his watch and stepped up to a terrified Tsubame.  
  
"Where's the principal's office?" he gently asked. Tsubame pointed down to   
the general direction of the place and dashed behind the seething Misao.  
  
The stranger walked towards the principal's office and soon disappeared into   
a corner.  
  
'Good riddance." Misao muttered under breath. She gave a cheerful beam to a   
nervous Tsubame and said, "Well, let's get back to our respective classes   
shall we?"  
  
Unknowst to Misao, the infuriating encounter with the stranger was not the   
last, but just the beginning.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++End Of Chapter Two++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Yup!!! This is the first meeting of Aoshi and Misao... Hopefully it is good   
enough to give positive reviews... Should I improve on the fighting scenes?  
Any other suggestions for this chapter or the story itself? Comments greatly  
appreciated.  
  
neko_no_miko 


	4. In the Midst of Clouds Chapter 3

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In the Midst of Clouds ~ An Alternate Rurouni Kenshin Romance  
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Chapter Three: Second meeting Does Not Equate to Improving Impression.  
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A lazy afternoon after a long and boring series of lessons saw Misao in the school's kendo dojo.   
Not that she truly wishes to master the popular handling of fighting with the bamboo sword like   
her elder sister Kaoru, she only got away with being a member of the kendoist team by being   
proficient enough in the kendo skills by beating all the guys in the team hands down and yet   
stayed to continually polish the techniques she had no idea how she had in fighting with kunai   
in a somewhat more fluid ease with the sharp weapons.   
  
Haanya-sensei was indeed one of her favourite persons lists. He recognised the ninja quality   
that was most suitable to practise the real skills he yearns pass down to the younger generations   
in Makimachi Misao whom had the rebellious streak, loyalty, shrewdness and sharp instincts both   
in mind and body. Perhaps he had found the suitable candidate for the position of master for   
the school of ninja-arts and even the wife for his okashiraa. Haanya grinned mentally and looked   
forward to the arrival of his leader.  
  
Misao did a few brief warm-ups to get ready for the spar with Haanya-sensei, anticipating for   
the rare times she could go all out in a fight. Kaoru was a strict upholder of peace and fighting   
techniques were only pulled out as a last resort. However Misao secretly disagreed on this theory.   
Although she herself abhorred violence, there were times she discovered that taking out on the   
crooks were more effective when mental negotiations failed, not to mention far more stress-  
relieving as well.   
  
A fellow member of the team signalled the start of the spar and with a battle cry, Misao launched   
into lightning fast blows that caused Haanya raised his eyebrows in admiration. Her speed had   
improved yet again and the intense concentration Misao held that day was almost as if she was   
confronting her enemy. 'Someone must have sparked off the temper of ninja-girl.' Evading the   
oncoming attacks, Haanya barely had the time to consider the distance to strategize his counter-  
blows. Misao tried to sweep his legs under him but Haanya predicted the move to leap to a position   
behind her. He was caught in surprise as Misao grabbed a towel on the dojo floor nearby and wring   
it to form a whip that attached to his ankle and pulled him to the ground off-balance. A metallic   
drawing of a sharp weapon frozen him in the middle of his struggles. Misao placed the blunt edge   
of the kunai at his throat and glared in triumph, silently demanded a resignation of losing the   
match.  
  
Haanya sighed and raised his hands. "I concede."  
  
"Yatta! I've finally beaten you at last." Misao stood up and hopped around in a weird dance of   
victory. Her master grinned at this display of sheer exuberance. 'Yup, definitely good for   
okashiira.'  
  
His focus recovering, Haanya felt a familiar presence exuding from the corner of the dojo. He   
bowed at the respective area and a tall figure emerge out of the dark. "Okashiira." He addressed   
to the man with a pair of gleaming blue-green eyes radiating cold calculation.   
  
The stranger finally stepped out of the shadows and let the light revealed his identity. The   
pair of eyes were found on the face with well-defined contours and the coal black hair dark to   
the point of being navy blue scanned the room of kendo team and resting on the other face he   
recognised. The only female in the team, he noted.  
  
"You!!!" Misao snarled in defiance. Haanya blinked. How in the world did the tenacious girl   
know his okashiira. He mentally filed this information in his mind as he cleared his throat   
for speech.  
  
"Class, this is the grandmaster of my martial-arts school and my leader, Shinomorii Aoshi-sama."   
The entire class bowed except for the indignant Misao. She crossed her arms and set her face   
in the strongest frown of anger and extreme dislike was written all over the pixie face.  
  
Aoshi could have laughed at this expression and the hilarous situation had he retain the non-  
existant humour at the small slip of a girl. However, since he had abandoned the unneccessary   
luggage called emotions, he settled on looking back at her near-exploding red face instead,   
an elegantly arched eyebrow lifted up in challenge. Misao noticed the challenge and tightened   
the grip of her fists.  
  
Haanya coughed at the awkward tension building up in the samll enclosed area. "As I was saying,   
I'll teach the rest of you in the kendo arts as usual. The only change will be, *cough* the   
training of your team leader Makimachi Misao will be under the wing of my master, Aoshi-sama   
from now on. This is a great honour to be taught by the grandmaster. Congratulations, Misao-chan.   
I have to address you Misao-sama from now on."   
  
"What!" Misao exploded at last. "Me under that obnoxious creep? You have got to be kidding me!"  
  
Aoshi lifted his other eyebrow. "Haanya, I do remember that you told me that you have found a   
rare talent to learn the restricted forms and techniques of martial arts. It could not have been   
a little girl that can hardly control her emotions like her, could it?" He merely motioned the   
near-hyperventilating girl and ignored the outraged crys of "I have a name you know!"  
  
Haanya was tempted to sweatdrop at the significantly insulting remark from his leader. Usually,   
Aoshi-sama was person who does not underestimate anyone, inclusive of females. This   
uncharacteristic display of understating a woman and a martial arts practitioner was   
unfathomable, to say the least.  
  
"Aoshi-sama, I suggest that you test her level of arts before dismissing Makimachi-san. She   
is a good material to shape." Misao fumed. How dare Haany-sensei spoke about her as if she was   
just an object, and how could he even push her to a jerk like the 'high and mighty' Shinomorii   
Aoshi. Granted, he is a handsome jerk but an egoistical one nervertheless. She almost lost the   
comment on how Aoshi commented on no matter how highly-skilled a person is, if he or she cannot   
control their emotions, the person will face the inevitable fall in the end. 'I'll show him.'  
  
Without warning, Misao lashed out a fist that was meant to knock him on the side of his head.   
Aoshi sensed the onward attack and doged. A barrage of kicks and pushing her speed limit to let   
loose strong and predictable moves to see him parrying with ease. 'Good. My plan is moving well.'   
A fake sweep at Aoshi's left foot was quickly ammended to a devastating kick upwards to where   
males could really feel pain for days. Aoshi sensed the chi of the young girl and realised her   
actual plan. His lips lifted at the corners in a near smile before disppaearing right in front   
of Misao and the captured audience before the kick could contact. Misao lost her balance and   
begun to fall backwards due to the momentum. She shuts her eyes and braced herself to land   
heavily on the floor. 'This is going to hurt.'  
  
A strong pair of arms enclosed her suddenly to prevent the fall and Misao opened one eye to   
see who her rescuer is and was stun to discover Shinomorii Aoshi enfolded her in an intimate   
near hug. "Won't want my student to get hurt before she started her lessons from me." Misao   
watched in fascination in close-view on how a certain lock of soft balck hair fell and nearly   
covering his eyes. Suddenly, her hand itched to brush them away so that she can continue to   
count the tiny flecks of black dancing in amusment in the deep-set eyes.  
  
Aoshi let go of her suddenly and strode to where the rest of the group watched open-mouthed   
at the fiercest fight they witnessed from their kendo team leader Misao as Aoshi nodded to   
Haanya. "I'll begin with her lessons starting tomorrow."  
  
Haanya bowed politely to see his okashiraa off before turning back to see Misao picking   
herself up. "The jerk! Who told him that I wish to be his student?" She grabbed her towel   
to wipe the sweat off in agitated movements, before announcing her request to go off.   
Haanya bid her farewell as he decided against how Misao had stayed in his leader's arms   
without protests.   
  
'Interesting match indeed.' A brief smile flitted across the older man's face as he himself   
pondered on the implications of the words if the reference is the fight or the couple   
itself.   
  
.............................................................................  
  
[The next day, Science class, laboratory]  
  
Misao dumped her materials and textbook on the benches, muttering to herself how unfortunate  
she was that the following day arrived so fast. She sharpen her pencils in an attempt to cool   
herself down as her face darkened to notice a small bundle of presents and chocolates piling   
up yet again at the side of the bench. 'When is the Valentines Day ever going to end?'   
  
A shuffling of footsteps signalling the teacher entering the laboratory managed to stop her   
in the middle of her ranting as she raised her head to see the ever-so-familiar cold   
glittering jewels for eyes, scrutinising at the pencils she had just sharpened that can be   
used as a substitute kunai if the user please. Misao gasped at her rotten luck at how she   
landed yet again with the new teacher for martial arts being the replacement teacher for the  
pregnant Mrs Fujimura.   
  
Aoshi was pleasantly surprised at the ocean blue eyes belonging to the small and delicate face  
burning laser-like stares at him. He quickly glanced down at the register on Makimachi Misao's   
academic record and was satisfied to find her with straight A's in all the subjects except in  
Arts.   
  
Well, that area he could ensure improvement in perhaps during their training in martial   
arts. No disciple of his must be allowed a slightest failure in any areas.   
  
With the mental resolve, Aoshi briskly took down the names of those who are present. He   
ignored the unwanted female attention towards him as usual as all the girls sighed in dreamy  
bliss to fix their gazes on their teacher whom in their opinion is a major hunk from movies.  
  
The class begun as Misao relaxed and paid attention to the lessons taught by her enemy and her  
supposed sensei. She was disgusted by the every single sigh of admiration and pushed the   
smallest protest from her brain that insisted that he *is* cute.   
  
After a small lecture, Aoshi decided to throw a question that he is certain no one in the high  
school calibre could answer. As expected, none of the people in the class volunteered to give  
a reply but he found only one student by the name of Makimachi Misao looking unimpressed and   
bored. Thus, he pointed her out and wants her to give an answer. Misao stood up and lifted up   
her chin in an arrogant manner. To his surprise, the girl answered it perfectly and in   
concise, clear words summarized the answer in simplified form before sitting down again.  
  
Aoshi did not show his new found respect at Misao outright an merely nodded before moving   
on the other topics to touch on. Assigning experiments for the class to fall into groups, Aoshi   
beckoned Misao to come forward just as she moved to join her usual work group. "You will work   
individually from now on if you think you're good enough for the challenge." Settling a   
worksheet that was meant for a final-year student, he gave her a place at the back of the class  
to work on the complex problem. Misao's work team groaned in disappointment. They were hoping   
to get the class brains to help them yet again this semester but obviously they had to stand   
on their own feet from now on.  
  
Misao returned the challenging glare and stomped to the directed bench. She smiled   
apologetically at her old work group and proceeded to do the series of tests and mixing of   
chemicals. She had managed to finished with half-an-hour to spare as the other groups swarmed  
her on how to complete a certain problem. Aoshi noticed the well-respected status of Misao in  
class and was secretly envious of how she earned their respect without fear through kindness  
and easygoing nature. Perhaps Haanya had discovered a suitable person to succeed Omasu-san upon  
her impending wedding to Shiro after all.   
  
++++++++++++++++++++End Of Chapter Two++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Oh dear. Am I mistaken or has my fic turned waffy. Still, give me your comments and any   
suggestions to improve the story are greatly appreciated.   
  
P.S. Haanya is not the masked spy for Oniiwanbanshuu anymore. It's the modern Japan for   
goodness sake, is there a need to sacrifice their looks for spying work? ^_^;;  
  
neko_no_miko 


	5. In the Midst of Clouds Chapter 4

**In the Midst of Clouds ~ An Alternate Rurouni Kenshin Romance**

* * *

Chapter Four: The martial arts lessons begins...

The morning did not agree with our emerald-eyed heroine that particular morning. For starters, she had toppled out of bed after nearly two years of managing to stay put on the single-sized dreamland retreat. Another big minus, Kaoru and Yahiko, the biggest snoop and nosy siblings extraordinaire, took a few pictures of her cursing at the general bad luck following her since "he" came into her peaceful life. And of course, who can forget the most obvious reason why a foul streak of luck decided to surround her like a disgusting stench of rotten vegetables. It was the first day she had to train with the 'I'm too good for you' Shinomori.

_'The gods up there definitely hate me today!' _

Kaoru was gritting her hair clip while gathering her hair up to its usual shiny high ponytail.

The hassle Misao tied up with throwing all the books for that day and brushing teeth together and the occasional strong expletive coming out caused Kaoru to wince more than once.

"Misao-chan! Mou is it really that bad to be a disciple under a master excelling in the arts?"

Misao frowned at the comment and spit a mouthful of toothpaste into the ceramic basin.

"Kaoru-neechan. If you have seen the plain arrogance that insufferable jerk show to the whole world to see, you would have understood why I couldn't stand him." Muttering under breath, Misao tossed her pencil case and the dreaded art materials into her school's conventional leather satchel and clicked it shut.

With a energetic wave and a strong smack on the back of her brother Yahiko to send him into a coughing fit in order to relive the toast lodged in his throat, Misao bounced to the door to put on her school shoes.

"Ja minna! I have to leave early for class duty roster. It's my turn today." She took off with the brisk stride to school.

The classroom was still quiet when Misao arrived to start her duty. Her partner in the duty roster as well, had not arrived yet, so she decided to get down to work by replacing the water in the flower vase and putting her favourite wild flowers picked up on her way to school. The purple colour and its natural fragrance always seem to trigger off a distant memory she knew was illogical as it never happened but nevertheless captivated her.

She rearranged the blossoms in a more pleasant-looking arrangement and stood back to admire her unpolished handiwork, brushing an errant lock of bangs falling off her forehead.

"Hmmm, not a masterpiece, but it does give a nice cheery atmosphere to the dreadfully dull whitewashed classroom." Misao clapped her hands in delight, unaware that the bane of her life, Shinomori Aoshi stopped by to indulge in a strange urge to look in and nearly allowed a smallest fraction of a smirk to touch his sharp facial features.

"A nice colour selection for the flowers. However you can improve on the appearance by trimming the leaves and giving them more dimension if you bother to snipe the stalks into different lengths." Aoshi stepped in and nodded towards the sight of lavender stuck in the glass container.

Misao spun around in surprise at the sudden intrusion and her face immediately took on the faithful black and stormy expression. "Who ask you?"

Aoshi shrugged. "Just giving a honest opinion."

Indeed, the flowers looked pretty cramped in the vase, but Misao was not about to admit that her nemesis is correct in his assessment. "They look pretty damned fine to me! Besides, I'm trying out a new art of arranging flowers." She stuck her finely upturned nose up in defiance.

Inwardly, Aoshi was impressed at her pride and unshakeable belief in self. However, she was still his disciple and it is important to stress the proper respect he deserves. Besides, he never lets up in the winning department either.

"Really? Are you aiming for the most unique design? I wish you all the best in wining the first prize for most over-used arrangement and the rudest artist ever." He left for the teacher's office and almost missed the sight of Misao's jaw gapping and trying to come up with a retort.

Almost. Aoshi did not notice a rare smile of amusement crossing his usual grim and straight-lined lips curling at the corners.

"Pffttt!" Not again!" Misao groaned at yet another failing grade scrawled in red on the returned Japanese ink painting she did for the previous week of home assignment. The obnoxious grin of her art teacher Miss Yoshikawa did not improve the matters by grinning and showing her effort to the entire class as a perfect example of failing. The damn art subject is doing nothing other than dragging her perfectly maintained overall grades down to a low "B". Of all the injustice in the world, she just happened to leave her talent in arts in her late mother's womb!

Besides what has talent in arts or the lack thereof got to do with a all- round education? Many times thoughts of being adept in art seem to serve no purpose to Misao when she was not planning to be an artist with an attitude as her choice of career. Who wants to be a famous painter or sculptor in the first place when such choices often ended the artists in the far away tucked corners, wrapped in barely warm clothing and stricken in poverty? Who has not heard of the great artists like Michelangelo only being famous at last after their death? A great waste of time to Misao if you ask her!

Glaring at her previous still-form sketches of flower arrangements in a pretty basket, a platter of fruits, a watch and (hmm, it that an apple?) many other unidentified objects, Misao's delicate features twisted into a mask of pure annoyance and an aura begun to surround her. Classmates started to detect the bluish light emitting out of her and due to past experience of such encounters, backed away cautiously.

At last the teacher managed to sense a foreboding sign and looked up to see his infamous and (un)talented student lighting up like a bright blue beacon.

"Ahem, Miss Makimachi?" The teacher cleared his throat nervously. "Would you kindly not give out the light? Look. How about if I waiver you a deal on this grade this time round?"

Misao's ki briefly toned down a little. "Honto?"

"Hai. Why don't I consider this upcoming art project as 40% of the total assessment grade? That way you may have a chance to graduate from this final year of art class?"

The sea-foam eyes lit up immediately and Misao nodded her head enthusiastically. "No problem. I will do this project as the grandest master piece you have ever seen." With her declaration, Misao bounded out of the art class with a cheerful outlook once again.

Miss Yoshikawa sunk back to her seat in relief when a student raised his hand in great trepidation. "Sensei? Do Makimachi have a chance to change her final year grade at all?"

The relieved art teacher glared at her pupil and replied carefully, "No. But it does save my classroom to be torn down to bits for the moment until the end of the year."

The hour of reckoning with the nemesis Shinomori Aoshi has been dreading has finally arrived. Misao stood in the dojo in her usual combat gear of navy combat gi warmed up and ready to prove just how wrong that pompous jerk had been when he assessed her as a little girl. She will show that 'sensei' just how little she was when she gets to knock a few teeth out of his pretty grin.

Seeing a set of kunai hanging on the wall of the dojo, Misao gently took them off and begun to juggle a few of them unsheathed in the air. Silver flashes rhythmically increased the pace and she was suddenly startled out of her meditative trance when a somber voice was spoken from a direction that Misao could not distinguish from.

"Not bad for one who has never received a formal training of ninjatsu. However, never let down your guard that the enemy may have a chance to sneak an attack on you."

Misao managed to collect all the kunai without cutting her own fingers, her expression thunderous with rage.

"Who ask you?"

A sardonic lift of Aoshi's elegant eyebrow further drove the final nail to the proverbial coffin as Misao threw her kunai just short of a hair's breath away of scratching her new sensei's cheek. The furrowed brow on Aoshi's usually expressionless face signaled Misao had better run (preferably without screaming like a hapless female victim in a B grade horror movie) as the ice blue eyes narrowed in warning.

"Oops." Misao backed ahead cautiously from the slowly advancing man. "It was an accident. I swear my fingers slipped."

'The insubordination has to be corrected. No disciples or followers of Oniiwabanshu are allowed to treat their direct superior with disrespect.'

"If your technique is this appalling, then I suggest rigorous basic regime to rectify in case more of such accidents can occur again." The words of Aoshi challenged Misao to argue his judgment.

Misao knew she has lost the battle and withered at these words. If she argued that her technique needs no further basic foundation training, it would mean that the kunai was intentionally thrown and thus subjected to a worse punishment. With a sigh of resignation, she dragged her feet to the area and positioned herself in front of throwing post.

"Would 1000 times be enough?" She threw a long-suffering look at her mentor.

"2500 times," Aoshi monotone stoically.

"What!"

"Everyday for one month."

An indignant purse of lips, Misao commenced while cursing him under breath. She swore to control her temper and to plot her vengeance in secret.

The Oniiwabanshu okashiira was expecting objections from the rebelliousness. When none came, he knew that this young disciple could reign in rashness, and that is an important factor in becoming hidden spies. Leaving the training grounds, Aoshi mentally begun mapping out new plans to incorporate in Misao's inauguration into Oniiwabanshu, unbeknownst to the girl herself.

++++++++++++++++++++End Of Chapter Four++++++++++++++++++++

**Author's note:** My humble apologies to all the readers. The lack of inspiration for so many years has stopped my brain juice from functioning. Pretty please to review after reading. I will update as soon as possible.


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